The French Embassy in Nigeria, in partnership with the Oyo State government, has donated a French library to St Anne’s School, Ibadan.
The equipment donation and dedication took place on the school’s premises on Monday.
The senior school principal and the coordinating principal of St Anne’s, Mrs Moradeun Olatunji, in her remarks, stressed that the gesture will not only foster cultural exchange between Nigeria and France but will also serve as an opportunity to inculcate French language into their curriculum.
“We are glad this is happening in our school. The school is privileged to be one of the few schools lucky to have the backing of the Ministry of Education and the Alliance Francis,” Olatunji said.
According to the representatives of the French embassy at the event, the project was carried out in ten secondary schools across Oyo State and was executed by the Centre for French Training and Documentation (CFTD).
The French language coordinator in Oyo State and the deputy director of CFTD, Mrs K. E. Adigun, stated that the essence of the project is to encourage the teaching and learning of French language across Oyo State schools by changing the orientation of teachers in the way they teach the language for effective delivery and result.
Adigun further stated that they have been training Oyo State teachers in French in the last two years, adding, “We want the teachers not just to teach the students the language to pass exams, but also for them to be able to communicate well with French people.”
Adigun said the project is a sustainable one, in the sense that plans have been adopted to monitor the students’ progress as they learn the language, and also to ensure that the equipment is put to use and handled well.
The permanent secretary of the Oyo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) Zone 1, Mrs Moninuola Olayiwola, emphasised that the project and donations were laudable and should be emulated by other well-meaning organisations to develop Oyo State schools.
She assured the French embassy that the equipment would be put to good use, adding, “It will help our students who are determined to be professionals in French.”
Olayiwola urged the teachers to ensure that teaching and learning should be student-orientated so that when the students graduate and succeed in their endeavours, they will remember the school and help to develop it better.
The local inspector of education of Ibadan South-East, Mrs R. Awowoyin ─ representing the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor AbdulWaheed Salihu ─ said the government appreciates the French embassy for the donations and for encouraging French language across Oyo State schools.
While appreciating the CFTD team, Awowoyin said, “We are like Oliver Twist. We ask for more equipment ─ and, as you supply them, God will replenish your purse.”
The Ibadan branch coordinator of the Nigerian Association of French Teachers (NAFT) and CFTD project coordinator in Oyo State, Prince Ola, stated that without the assistance of the Oyo State governor and other vital stakeholders, the project would not have been possible, adding that the equipment would help the students to distinguish themselves in the French language.
According to Ola, the items donated to the school are a smart television, a dish cable and a decoder, an MP player, a public address system and two rechargeable microphones, educative writing materials, a laptop with charger, an extension box, and a generator.
The chairperson of the school’s governing board, Mrs Akinkayo; the national president of the Seminary-St Anne’s Old Girls Association (SSASOGA), Mrs Olufunmilayo Kehinde, the principal of school II, Dr Olasunmbo Savage; the principal of school I, Mrs Abmbola Akinyenri, and representative of the parents’ forum spoke at the event.
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